Phil Hellmuth, the all-time leader in World Series of Poker titles with 17, thinks there are simply too many WSOP bracelets awarded each year.
During a break in the action from the latest edition of PokerGO’s No Gamble, No Future, Hellmuth made his perspective clear in a quick interview with Card Player.
“I went public saying that there should be 100 bracelets,” Hellmuth said. “I know some of the owners of the World Series Poker [said], ‘Phil, it should be 100 bracelets.’ [Daniel] Negreanu wants to have more. But right now there’s over 300 bracelets. I believe they’re becoming meaningless.”
Hellmuth’s 17 career WSOP bracelet wins put him six ahead of Phil Ivey, who sits in second with 11. Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, and Erik Seidel all have 10 each, followed by Johnny Moss with nine. Beyond them sit a generation of young standouts who appear poised to make a serious run at Hellmuth’s record. Michael Mizrachi, Shaun Deeb, and Benny Glaser each have eight bracelets and the potential to win many more.
While Hellmuth’s comments don’t seem to be directed at those three players, with only Mizrachi owning an online bracelet among them, Hellmuth’s point is centered around the dilution of one of poker’s greatest prizes. His focus largely seems to be centered upon the perpetuation of online bracelets.
More Bracelets Each Year
In addition to the 100 live WSOP bracelet events in Las Vegas, and live WSOP Europe and WSOP Paradise festivals, there are multiple yearly online events in North America and the rest of the world that all award bracelets. In 2025 alone, there are slated to be 234 bracelets handed out.
“I believe the World Series is going to become worth nothing,” Hellmuth continued. “There are 100 weird names you could give [these events], but this is the World Series of Poker, and it has to have an exclusivity to it. Somebody won a bracelet recently, and we said, ‘Wow, you won a $300 online?’ Another guy won over 37 players. And then we’re like, whoa, the bracelets are really being run down and [are] not as important anymore.”
Hellmuth, the Poker Hall of Famer and one of the most prolific figures in the game, has played through many different eras of the poker industry. His 1989 WSOP main event win came against a field of 178 players. Several of his early bracelet wins came against fields of 88 and 63. But at the 1993 WSOP, for example, there were 21 bracelets on the line, in total.
Making The WSOP ‘Great Again’
During the No Gamble, No Future broadcast, Hellmuth repeated that Negreanu and GGPoker ownership were listening to his pleas to change the system and reduce the number of bracelets on the line each year. GGPoker purchased the WSOP intellectual property in October 2024 for $500 million. From Hellmuth’s perspective, watering down the value of a bracelet could be devastating to the brand.
“If you have 350 bracelets per year, everyone’s going to have six, and soon,” said Hellmuth. “So, yeah, we have to do something about it. We have to save the World Series of Poker. I’m not a political guy, but I’m going to say, make the World Series of Poker great again. I know that Negreanu wants to cut 200 of the 350 bracelets.
“I’d like to see 100, Daniel wants 140, 150 but there’s going to be some big changes. All these worthless bracelets, and they 100% have to change. You won a bracelet online, that’s a different category.”
Hellmuth asserts he’d simply stop playing events if the trend of more bracelet events each year continues. He already teased sitting out the WSOP main event in 2025, under different circumstances, before ultimately reversing course. But with the status Hellmuth holds in the game, he feels like this is a moment where he has to speak out.
“There’s so many people that have two or three or four bracelets online, I don’t even know their names,” Hellmuth said. “I didn’t even hear about them winning. The World Series of Poker risks losing… they paid $500 million for the World Series of Poker, and if they run it right into the ground, they may end up with a $50 million asset. If everybody has 20 bracelets, I’m going to stop coming. I’m here. I play for the history.”
